American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is heaven on earth for the dinosaur-obsessed little boy inside of all men. Yes, there’s a lot more to see at the city staple, but the dinosaur exhibit is the best in the United States. Visually stunning and huge, it’s easy to spend hours inside learning about animals, space and human artifacts. Download the free iPhone app before your arrival to help with navigation. This spot is a must-visit for every NYC resident or visitor.

Museum of Sex

The Museum of Sex starts off with a collection of celebrity sex tapes, and goes through the history of animal intercourse, erotic art, a pin-up exhibit and much more. The gift shop also provides a great opportunity to pick up gag gifts or bachelor party paraphernalia. It’s fun and humorous, but be warned: The statue of two pandas getting it on may forever be burned in your brain.

Photo Credit: Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

The Intrepid Museum is located aboard the USS Intrepid, a World War II Naval aircraft carrier that also saw combat in Vietnam and recovered astronauts returning from space missions. Learn about the ship, ride in an A-6 Cockpit simulator, see military exhibits and historic airplanes, and tour the inside of the Concorde, the world’s fastest commercial airplane. Also, many of the museum’s volunteers are veterans, so try to track one down and hear their interesting and enlightening war stories.

The first sign it’s cool is that the New York City Transit Museum is housed in real, no-longer-in-use subway station. (Don’t worry, the museum cat Sadie keeps the rats away!) Enter through the original stairway to see how subway tunnels are dug, various (now vintage) token turnstiles, and go inside historic subway cars. Free tours, and the gift shop has awesome souvenirs such as old tokens from throughout the years.

Photo Credit: New York City Police Museum

New York City Police Museum

The New York City Police Museum is the equivalent of cops and robbers for grown men. Check out the weapons and sirens or participate in a simulated shoot out. If you’d rather play the bad guy, get your mug shot taken and see what it’s like behind bars inside a real jail cell. More somberly, the 9-11 exhibit is a poignant feature with equipment from fallen officers and interviews with NYPD who were on the scene that day.

Charli James is a 20-something writer, reporter and editor. Learn more about Charli and her work at CharliJames.com.